Artificial Intelligence on the Rise: How GitLab and Co. Could Shape the Year 2025

The analyst community expects that artificial intelligence software will experience a significant surge in 2025, and many companies could benefit from the increasing interest. Bank of America notes that while the U.S. software market recorded growth rates of 59% in 2023 and 23% in 2024, it is still below historical average values. Bank of America emphasizes three key trends for 2025: agentic AI, higher IT budgets in companies, and ongoing cloud migration. These developments provide a foundation for continued positive developments, albeit with occasional fluctuations, as hinted by the investment firm Macquarie. A special focus is on GitLab, which is considered a frontrunner in the race for supremacy in the AI software sector. Despite a loss of 10.5% in 2024, the company remains future-proof. GitLab made a remarkable impact in the last reporting period with a revenue increase of 31% compared to the previous year. The company offers a platform for automating and optimizing the software development process with the help of AI, which is well received by clients like Nasdaq and Southwest Airlines. The latest partnership with Amazon Web Services brings a joint offering of GitLab Duo and Amazon Q to market, aiming to accelerate software development through intelligent assistants. Macquarie is enthusiastic about GitLab's progress and sees the company as the best player to successfully leverage the potential of agentic AI. With a price target of $90 and a positive rating, GitLab is among the top recommendations from analysts. Companies like Autodesk, Salesforce, MongoDB, and Atlassian have also been named as other potential beneficiaries of the AI wave.